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eBay buyers with an unconfirmed PayPal address...what to do?
vintagetoppsguy
Posts: 871
I just had some eBay auctions that ended and one of the buyers paid me with PayPal - from an unconfirmed address - within seconds of the auction ending. All of my auctions state that I do not take PayPal from buyers with an unconfirmed address. It never fails that on every batch of auctions, at least one buyer tries to pay from an unconfirmed address. I always just refund the payment, tell them to confirm the account and resend the payment or let them know that they can also mail their payment.
I am getting tired of the hassle. I have never had any bad experiences, but I have heard horror stories of sellers being scammed from buyers paying from an unconfirmed address, receiving the merchandise and then disputing the transaction once they receive the item. From what I have also heard, PayPal will always side with the buyer in this situation. Has anybody had an experience with this?
The buyer doesn't have much feedback, but it is all 100%. He bought a '72 Topps wax pack from me and I looked at his feedback and it seems that all he buys are wax packs, boxes, etc.
Is there a way that I can ship it that will protect me? i.e. signature confirmation? Any help?
Auction
I am getting tired of the hassle. I have never had any bad experiences, but I have heard horror stories of sellers being scammed from buyers paying from an unconfirmed address, receiving the merchandise and then disputing the transaction once they receive the item. From what I have also heard, PayPal will always side with the buyer in this situation. Has anybody had an experience with this?
The buyer doesn't have much feedback, but it is all 100%. He bought a '72 Topps wax pack from me and I looked at his feedback and it seems that all he buys are wax packs, boxes, etc.
Is there a way that I can ship it that will protect me? i.e. signature confirmation? Any help?
Auction
0
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Forget blocking him; find out where he lives and go punch him in the nuts. --WalterSobchak 9/12/12
Looking for Al Hrabosky and any OPC Dave Campbells (the ESPN guy)
<< <i>You can set it up in Paypal to block bidders with unconfirmed addresses. >>
BINGO!
do that and then they cannot even make the payment.
If you ship to an UNconfirmed addy, you have zero protection.
<< <i>Is there a way that I can ship it that will protect me? >>
Unfortunately, no.
Does anybody else find it odd that Paypal lets people pay using their system in such a way that the recipient can't protect themselves?
Tabe
<< <i>, PayPal will always side with the buyer in this situation. >>
Not true, Paypal has also sided with the seller where the seller was the scammmer,
example: My friend bought a couple of cards from a seller, seller sent them to him with a tracking number
Friend opened the box and found it empty. Paypal sided with the seller
<< <i>Is there a way that I can ship it that will protect me? >>
Send it registered to his address with signature
or express with signature
Charge the buyer for the extra shipping costs
mail back the buyer, tell him that because he has a unconfirmed address, he must pay for tracking
<< <i>
Does anybody else find it odd that Paypal lets people pay using their system in such a way that the recipient can't protect themselves?
Tabe >>
Paypal sides with the seller when there is signature tracking
<< <i>
<< <i>Is there a way that I can ship it that will protect me? >>
Send it registered to his address with signature
or express with signature
Charge the buyer for the extra shipping costs
mail back the buyer, tell him that because he has a unconfirmed address, he must pay for tracking
<< <i>
Does anybody else find it odd that Paypal lets people pay using their system in such a way that the recipient can't protect themselves?
Tabe >>
Paypal sides with the seller when there is signature tracking >>
Completely INCORRECT.
There is no way to ship anything to someone that pays in that manner where paypal will protect you.
Also your last sentence is just not true....partially true but not completely.
You must follow their rules and I believe (without looking) that you must have Del. Con. on it if it's under 250.00 and Sig. Con. if it's over. Those 2 are the only methods they accept even though registered is THE most secure method available and has a sig.
of course none of that matters if you are shipping to an unconfirmed address.
completely untrue. Paypal will always side with the buyer if the address is unconfirmed and a INR complaint is filed.
As a buyer: I am afraid I am one of those guilty unconfirmed buyers. I bid on so many items, that I often do not read the fine print on most listings. When I win, I just pay all sellers at once through Paypal. 99% of the time the seller accepts my payment. On a rare occasion my payment is denied, and I email the seller with an appology and resend the payment with my confirmed address. Then I wait and hope I am at home to sign for the item when it arrives. I have a confirmed address to my home, but I prefer to use my box at the mail place to pick up my mail. I made a small attempt to confirm that address, but was rejected because I do not have a credit card attached to it. I never pursued it further.
To protect yourself: PayPal will not back you up in most cases when you send to an unconfirmed address. I guess there are exceptions, but I did get stung for over $1000 gold sale to Singapore about 5 years ago to an unconfirmed. Needless to say, I do not ship coins overseas anymore. The best I can recommend is insure the item, get signature confirmation with the receipt, and save the tracking number.
<< <i>You must follow their rules and I believe (without looking) that you must have Del. Con. on it if it's under 250.00 and Sig. Con. if it's over. Those 2 are the only methods they accept even though registered is THE most secure method available and has a sig.
>>
I think any type of signature confirmation that can be tracked online is acceptable so registered , certified , fedex sig , signature confirm are all acceptable I believe.
if the address is unconfirmed, you could send it by armoured car and you still arent protected!
<< <i>
<< <i>You must follow their rules and I believe (without looking) that you must have Del. Con. on it if it's under 250.00 and Sig. Con. if it's over. Those 2 are the only methods they accept even though registered is THE most secure method available and has a sig.
>>
I think any type of signature confirmation that can be tracked online is acceptable so registered , certified , fedex sig , signature confirm are all acceptable I believe.
if the address is unconfirmed, you could send it by armoured car and you still arent protected! >>
I believe only the 2 that I stated above are acceptable to them.
<< <i>Signature receipt for valuable items.
For items with a value of $250.00 USD or more, in addition to proof of delivery, you should provide proof of signature from the recipient. This proves that the item was delivered to the buyer. Many carrier companies offer these proof of delivery services.
>>
they provide a link where it says "proof of delivery" which I have attached below which accepts all of the acceptable forms of signature verification
paypal proof of delivery pop up
<< <i><< You must follow their rules and I believe (without looking) that you must have Del. Con. on it if it's under 250.00 and Sig. Con. if it's over. Those 2 are the only methods they accept even though registered is THE most secure method available and has a sig.
>>
I think any type of signature confirmation that can be tracked online is acceptable so registered , certified , fedex sig , signature confirm are all acceptable I believe. >>
The key is "signature" that can be tracked online. In other words, the recipient's NAME must appear. It does not for registered mail. Thus, registered mail by itself is not enough to be covered under seller protection. You have to add signature confirmation.
In all cases for items over $250, regardless of carrier, if the name does not appear online there is no protection.
Russ, NCNE
I had a friend who used to sell really expensive PDA phones on eBay. He shipped a phone to a buyer with an unconfirmed address and once the buyer received the phone, he disputed that the transaction was not authorized and PayPal issued him a refund from my friend’s account. It was a $300.00 phone and this is why I am so leery about sending items to an unconfirmed address.
I did not know that you could block buyers from sending payment from an unconfirmed address (Thank you Lejiascards and Goose). When I was on the phone with PayPal, they walked me through it. Here are the steps in case anybody else wants to do it:
From the My Account Overview page, click on “Profile”
Under Selling Preferences (3rd column on right), click on “Payment Receiving Preferences”
The first question that it will ask you is, “Block payments from U.S. users who do not provide a Confirmed Address:”
Click “Yes” and be sure to click the save button at the bottom.
Hope this saves somebody a lot of problems down the road.